Description
Tumelo
Fine Art Print on 230gsm Premium Poster Paper
17 × 24 cm image on an A4 sheet
R650
Tumelo is the most openly drawn portrait in the collection. Set on a white ground, the close-cropped head is worked over in a mosaic of green, magenta, ochre, blue and cream, with zigzags and small triangles picked out across the crown and around the eyes. Hoop earrings sit at either ear, and below the neck a patterned collar in blue, magenta and green carries a small sun motif at the shoulder. A faint smile plays at the mouth.
The handling here is looser and more provisional than elsewhere in the series — the marks are lightly laid, the edges left open, and in places the white of the support shows through the colour entirely. That restraint gives the picture its warmth: rather than the density of the beaded portraits, Tumelo has air in it, and the figure seems to be arriving on the page rather than fixed on it. The drawing beneath the colour is quietly accurate, particularly around the eyes and the set of the jaw.
At 17 × 24 cm on 230gsm premium poster paper, Tumelo is an unforced, friendly print. The open white ground makes it an easy piece to live with, and it balances the busier prints in the collection well when several are hung together.
Specifications
- Title: Tumelo
- Artist: Julie Tugwell
- Type: Fine art print of an original artwork
- Paper: Premium poster stock, 230gsm
- Image size: 17 × 24 cm
- Sheet size: A4 — 21 × 29.7 cm
- Orientation: Portrait
- Supplied: Unframed
- Collection: African Portraits
- Availability: Available
Key Features
- Loose, open drawing on a white ground
- Close-cropped head worked in a mosaic of green, magenta and ochre
- Patterned collar with a small sun motif
- Printed on 230gsm premium poster stock
- Supplied unframed, ready to frame or mount
Ideal Setting
An easy, unforced piece for a bedroom, study, child’s room or landing. Its open white ground and warm colour suit contemporary and minimal interiors, and it balances busier works well in a grouped hang.
Style
Julie Tugwell is a contemporary South African artist whose work shares qualities with expressive, painterly traditions, favouring energetic brushwork and an emotional response to her subject over strict realism. In her portrait work she builds the face from bold, singing colour, letting warm and cool tones play against one another so that character and presence carry the picture rather than a literal likeness. The result is work that brings warmth, personality and considered sophistication to contemporary interiors.
At a Glance
- Artist: Julie Tugwell, contemporary South African artist
- Artwork: Tumelo
- Format: Fine art print on 230gsm premium poster paper
- Print size: 17 × 24 cm image on an A4 sheet, portrait
- Subject: Loosely drawn portrait on a white ground with a patterned collar
- Style: Expressive, colour-led contemporary portraiture
- Palette: White, green, magenta, ochre and blue
- Collection: African Portraits by Julie Tugwell
- Ideal setting: An easy, unforced piece for a bedroom, study, child’s room or landing
- Price: R650, supplied unframed
Please note: Images are provided as a guide to the artwork’s size and style. As each piece is photographed under different lighting conditions and viewed on different screens, colours may vary slightly from the printed artwork.
